Gilbert Tennent is Dead (Feb. 5, 1703 – May 6, 1764)

This Day in History: May 6th, 1764 Gilbert Tennent died. Tennent, an Irish-born Presbyterian minister, burst on the national scene in 1740, with his sermon entitled, “On the Dangers of an Unconverted Ministry”. This sermon was printed in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin. In that sermon, Tennent suggested that pastors who stood in opposition to the current revival may be unconverted. That pamphlet created quite a controversy throughout the Colonies. The examples above are less controversial Tennent sermons.

Both of these pamphlets were printed four years later. Both were preached in December, 1744. The first is entitled “The Necessity of keeping the Soul.” It is a 24-page sermon. The imprint measures 4-3/8” x 6-1/4”. It is intended both to exhort Christians and warn non-Christians. It follows all the printing conventions of the day: Caslon-style type, excessive capitalization of nouns, using italics to quote Bible verses, and using “catchwords” (which is a preview the word or syllable at the bottom on a page that will be the first word/syllable on the following page).

The first sermon was preached on the 23rd of December. The second sermon, “The Danger of Spiritual Pride represented” was preached a few days later on the 30th. The original two sermons are bound together as one. However, we reproduce them separately. Both of the originals are the same size.

You can purchase replicas of these as well as two other pamphlets by Tennent for $9.95 each from my Etsy Store at the following link: Purchase Here